Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic inflammatory disorder that primarily affects various body joints and causes progressive destruction of articular structures, particularly, the cartilage and bone. Notably, the joint destruction is a prominent feature of the disease that not only distinguishes RA from other arthritic diseases but also determines its outcome in the majority of individuals affected. The long-term prognosis of RA is poor with as much as 80% of patients affected becoming disabled after 20 years and a concomitant reduction in life expectancy by an average of 3–18 years. If the disease remains untreated, 20–30% of patients may become permanently work-disabled within 2–3 yr of diagnosis. Predictors of poor outcome for RA include relatively low functional disease activity scores early in the disease progression, lower socio-economic status and education level, strong family history of the disease, and early involvement of many joints. Thirty per cent of the patients with severe forms of the disease typically remain unresponsive to any classic treatment intervention. Nonetheless, patients with milder forms of the disease may derive some level of benefit from early diagnosis and treatment.

In view of the overwhelming literature and promise for the potential benefits of curcumin- induced chemoprevention and treatment of several human diseases, the current study is a pilot effort to assess the efficacy and safety of BioSOLVECurcumin^TM in comparison with placebo for 12 weeks in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis in knees, hands and neck. BioSOLVECurcumin^TM is a specially modified and formulated nutraceutical product with advantage of highly bioavailable curcumin for its intended pharmacological effect.

The main aim of the study is to investigate the effect of BioSOLVECurcumin^TMin patients with active Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) using subjective questionnaires as the evaluation parameters as well as assessment of the safety of the study product.